Staring at his reflection in the water while he washed off the most of the blood, he wondered who he was looking at right now. He didn’t look any different than Tom had looked yesterday, but a man like Tom was unlikely to be in this situation, shirt open, kneeling in the cool morning air, washing away his brother’s blood. As a matter of fact, Tom didn’t even have a brother, so ‘hello, Joey.’
In all honesty he didn’t feel remorse about killing Richie. He hadn’t seen him in more than twenty years and had managed to almost forget about him and Philadelphia. Richie had tried to kill him and there was no way of negotiation; either he or Joey would have ended up dead. Naturally Richie had supposed he would be the one living, had probably thought Joey would have slackened, would have lost his deadly aim. Well, he hadn’t. R.I.P. Richie.
Somehow he had always known in the back of his head that he hadn’t lost his touch. His ability to move and act in a split second without breaking sweat was still there and had saved his life when those guys and later Fogarty showed up at the diner.
*So now what?* Back to Tom Stall, he answered his own question. Edie never needed to know about what happened here and she’d probably take him back. Sure, there would be awkwardness in the beginning, but she hadn’t really protested much when he fucked her into the stairs, had she? The look of disgust on her face later had been more for herself, than for him. Somehow Joey had always attracted women more than poor, decent Tom had. He knew Edie and he wanted to go back to her.
Thinking about his kids worried him more, especially Jack who had always been such a nice boy, all about turning the other cheek instead of an eye for an eye. Still, he had beaten the school bully, had shot Fogarty, and had proved a true son of his father in the end. Cusack blood, bad blood.
Joey slowly got up, knowing all to well he should leave right now, drive home before someone would find him here. The police would probably be glad to have one of Philly’s criminals dead, but they would still try to find the killer and he shouldn’t push his luck. Shaking his fuzzy head Joey walked back to the house.
He stepped into the big kitchen area and suddenly his stomach rumbled as there was still the faint scent of something that must have tasted delicious in the air. He opened the refrigerator door and bent down to open the lid of a glass bowl when something hit him on the head. The last thing he heard was the breaking of glass.
A splash of something cold in his face and Joey opened his eyes, coughing. He was lying on a bed – *Richies bed?* - clothes all gone except for his jeans and spread eagled. He tried to move, but found he was tied to the four posts. Joey looked up at the man sitting on the edge of the bed close to him. The man was a complete stranger, that he was sure of, but there was still something familiar about him. Cropped blond hair, a goatee, green eyes and a lean, muscled body in tee, jeans and leather jacket, a middle-sized kitchen knife balancing on a thigh casually. Dangerous, Joey’s brain alerted him.
“Who are you?” he asked, wincing against the flash of pain in his head.
“I hate to be predictable, but I am the one asking the questions here. Who are you?”
“I am Tom Stall,” Joey said, his brain running overtime to come up with plausible answers to the inevitable next question.
“Well Tom, I am Eddie. Now that we are acquainted, let’s talk business. I am more than a little pissed off by your one man demolition act. I came to ask Richie Cusack some very urgent questions. It took some real hard work finding him, but now he’s no longer around I expect you to help me.”
“Hey,” Joey protested, “I didn’t do a thing; I am just one of Cusack’s employees.”
Eddie looked at him, a tight smile around the corners of his mouth. “Sure you are. Richie must be one fucking hell of an employer that you lasted all this years.” Reaching down he held up a picture of Joey and Richie in the garden, arms around each other, their father in the background. “Found it in the library; I advise you to tell the truth, brother. “
*Fuck. Tell him something close to the truth.* “Okay, I am Richie’s brother Joey, but I hadn’t seen him in twenty years. I didn’t want to get mixed up in family affairs. He was still my brother, so when he asked me to come over and make peace, I accepted. Family, right? Then I found him… slaughtered.” He tried very hard to get a tear from his eyes, but only managed after Eddie suddenly reached forward, grabbed one of his nipples and twisted it hard. Ooow… fuck, what did you do that for, man?”
“Because you’re a lying sonofabitch. Next time I’ll hurt something else. Now try again.”
“Fuck man; it’s true!”
Joey gasped when the hand shot out again and grabbed the waistband of his jeans. The knife in the other hand came down, cutting off the button, then piercing through the rough cloth with ease on its way down. “That brother of yours may have been a bastard, but he sure kept his tools sharp.”
“Okay, okay, stop it!” The knife lifted, but was still dangerously close to new exposed flesh. “It’s true; I hadn’t seen Richie in twenty years. I have lived under Tom Stall’s name all this time and my brother thought I was dead. I settled down, married, got children and I was kind of happy. Then a friend of Richie showed up a few weeks ago and recognized me. I was summoned over here and we… well, let’s say it was him or me and I won.”
“As easy as that?” Eddie looked at him thoughtfully while lowering the knife a few inches. As long as he held his breath Joey could just avoid the point touching his pubes. “How did you manage to deal with four armed men single handed?”
No longer caring to lie, Joey looked up at Eddie. “Because I am good, maybe not as good as I once was, but still good enough.”
“Hitman?”
“Something like that, yeah.”
“Why did your brother want you dead?” The knife was lifted again, but still too close to his skin to relax.
“I’d pissed of a few guys back then and when I disappeared they blamed it on Richie. So he could never move up within the organization. He figured killing me would solve the debt.”
Eddie nodded and finally took away the knife. “I see. Well Joey, that still leaves me with a problem. I once was married and had children too. Then some people decided they didn’t like me and killed my family and tried to kill me. My only reason to live right now is that I want to find the fuckers responsible for that. I’ve been following a trail for weeks now and it led me to your brother. I don’t know how big his involvement was, but I was going to find out and now he’s dead.”
“Look, I am really sorry and if I were you I would do the same thing. I didn’t know, did I, and I really can’t help you. It’s true; I hadn’t seen my brother in twenty years and I have no fucking idea if he had anything to do with this.”
Eddie nodded, shifting a little closer. “Okay. I still expect you to come up with a few names though. I am sure you remember some of his friends or even enemies; people who might know something.”
“If I do, will you let me go?”
“I might, if you try hard enough.”
Joey suddenly grinned, despite his situation. “A fine pair we make.”
Eddie answered his grin. “We do, now tell me, we don’t have much time. Don’t want the fucking day shift walking in here. Spill.”
Eddie listened him intently, while Joey made a serious effort to call as many names as he could back to life, made him repeat some of the names, then scribbled them down on a piece of paper he found on the dresser in the corner. Watching him, Joey suddenly realized Eddie looked like someone he had known, a long time ago. Sean.
At the age of twenty Joey had been stubborn, always resisting his father’s and brother’s attempts to keep him under. He had no patience and didn’t feel like starting low in order to follow in their footsteps; he wanted something for himself. Already he had been caught for minor criminal offences, but his father had paid some money here and there to keep him out of prison. When Joey had almost killed a young kid in a rage Cusack Sr. had warned his son that this would be the last time he saved his neck and he had stuck to his word when the police caught Joey in the act of armed robbery.
He was sent to jail for four months and his father hadn’t as much as lifted a finger to help him. Inside, Joey’s youthful bravado shrunk into nothing. The cell they brought him to smelled, just like the three guys he had to share with. When the lights went down, they took turns on him and as strong and muscled as he was, Joey couldn’t fight off three guys at a time.
Two horrible days later Sean stepped in. Sean was one of the prison guards and quite popular, even amongst most prisoners. He was tough and strict when he needed to be, but always fair. They respected him, because he treated them as human beings, not like caged animals as most of the other guards did. Apart from that he was young and handsome, his body as lean as this man Eddie’s body.
Sean had seen through Joey’s stoic face, had picked up the misery behind it and soon enough Joey moved to another cell, where his new cell mates avoided any physical contact with him, as the word was out he was under Sean’s protection.
At first Joey had waited for Sean to come and collect, but that never happened. He had been grateful, but also surprised, even a bit annoyed, unable to understand Sean’s motives.
On the daily hour outside in the yard they talked and even though Sean tried hiding it, Joey found out soon enough Sean wanted him. By now, Joey had adapted to prison life and wasn’t shocked. He knew that having a sexual relationship with Sean would give him power and a bring benefits and he started thinking about it. Sean never said a word about it, never even proposed anything and would certainly never force Joey into anything. He was young and good looking and with him sex wouldn’t be like his encounters with those fuckers that had raped him. Carefully, he started to flirt with Sean, a bit more each day, leading to a final encounter in the showers, when everyone else was locked up.
Joey had expected to endure it, but to his surprise it had been good. Sean had been so afraid to hurt him, had been so careful with his preparations, that in the end it had been Joey encouraging Sean.
After that it wasn’t about benefits, not entirely anyway and it was clear for Sean it had been love. That’s what made Joey put a stop to it, once he was free. He had told Sean to his face he never wanted to see him anymore and had turned away to not see the hurt on his face. It was the only good thing, decent thing even he remembered from prison. Tom had managed to forget about Joey, but even he hadn’t been able to forget Sean.
Joey looked at Eddie again, the strong, almost hungry face, his lean, hard torso and the way his shirt rippled over the muscles of his stomach. He shivered; so long ago and he hadn’t forgotten how it felt to be filled with cock. Suddenly he was hard as rock and could feel his dick trying to push its way out of the ripped jeans, like a cobra from a basket.
Joey could see Eddie had noticed too and he tried to make out the expression on his face. At least he didn’t seem appalled and Joey licked his dry lips.
“Look, if you let me go, I’ll .. let you do anything.”
Eddie cocked an eyebrow, then grinned at him. “Anything?”
“I mean we’re both alone and we seem to.. well, get along fine and so I thought..”
Eddie laughed, laying a hand on Joey’s knee. “Are you aware you’re still at my mercy. I could do ‘anything’ to you without your consent, you know.”
“You could be a killer, but I don’t think you’re a rapist.”
“You’re right; I am not. I am a suspicious sonofabitch though. Who says I can trust you enough to release you; maybe you’re just trying to bite my dick off or something.” Releasing Joey’s knee, Eddie got up from the bed. “I am seriously tempted Joey, but I really think we should get out of here. I will cut loose one of your hands; I am sure you’ll manage to get the rest off quite easily, it will only slow you down a bit.”
Bending over the bed Eddie cut through the rope around Joey’s left wrist. “If the circumstances had been different, who knows? It was nice meeting you,” Joey.”
“Good luck, Eddie.”
Of course Eddie had been right; they really should leave, but still Joey felt more than a bit rejected. *Fuck him.*
He was untying the last knot when he heard the shot. His fingers worked even faster and then he slid of the bed and tiptoed over the floor, sending up a silent ‘thank you’ to his brother for having such a thick bedroom carpet. Outside the door he crouched until he reached the stairs and carefully peered down through the banister.
A man stood in the hallway, a pistol in his outstretched hand. Where the fuck was Eddie? From the back he could hear the clutter of china breaking, then again a shot and somebody shouting. The man with the gun started running towards the noise and Joey ran downstairs, following him. Picking up something that looked like a baseball club from underneath the hat stand – *nice Richie, really nice* - he managed to catch up with the guy in front of him, just before he entered the kitchen. Joey lifted the bat, swinging it, making his victim go down like a log. Grabbing for the pistol that had skated away over the wooden floor, he backed away when he heard footsteps. A head with dark, curly hair popped up from the kitchen door and Joey jumped forwards, swinging his bat again. *Another one down.*
No sound at all and this time he managed to grab the pistol, keeping it in front of him while he made the last few steps into the kitchen. There was a guy on the floor and Eddie was leaning against the kitchen counter, a few smears of blood over his face.
“You okay?” Joey asked, straightening up.
“Yeah. I was going back upstairs when they came in. I took down two of them, but I probably wouldn’t have survived if you hadn’t come down. Thanks.”
“’s Okay. I guess this was the day shift you were talking about. Why were you going upstairs again? Having second thoughts?”
Eddie smiled. “All the time, but no; I forgot the note with the names you gave me.”
“Oh, right. Well, you’d better get it then.” Joey followed Eddie through the corridor, watched him climbing the stairs, when suddenly he remembered fucking Edie like that, on the stairs, only a few days ago. Without even thinking he leaped, grabbing Eddie’s ankles and pulling him down.
“What the fuck..?”
“Come on,” Joey said. “You owe me. Besides, you want it, don’t you?”
He could feel the taut body under him arch up, while he fumbled with Eddie’s pants. One movement of his hand and he ripped open his own jeans. Eddie was cursing underneath him, but he wasn’t seriously trying to get away, so Joey spat in his hand, then wetted his cock.
“Is this your first time?” Joey brought out, afraid to inflict real damage. He was pressed so close to the man underneath him that the laughter shaking Eddie’s body made him shake and rumble too.
“I am searching for these kind of answers for weeks now; what do you fucking think?”
Joey took that for granted and he worked himself into that tight, clenching heat that was Eddie’s body. “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” then closed his teeth on the nape of Eddie’s neck, tasting fucking all of him, while he fucked him.
He could hear sounds of distress coming from both of them, accepting they’d be black and blue tomorrow, he was still black and blue from earlier this week, but who cared? Grabbing Eddie’s hips he hauled him closer, stabbing in almost impossibly deep, growling in triumph when he felt Eddie shaking and clenching around him, watched the big hands scrabbling for something to hold on to on the wooden stairs. His knee painfully hitting the stairs again and again Joey came, his hand fisted into too short strands of hair.
He collapsed on Eddie, shaking his head to get back to now.
*It’s me Edie, Tom, I am coming home, baby.*
Summary: Joey has to answer about killing his brother in an unexpeted way.
Rated: NC-17
Categories: Crossovers Pairing: Eddie Prey/Joey Cusack
Warnings: NoneChallenges:
Series: NoneChapters: 1 Completed: Yes
Word count: 3069 Read: 1319
Published: 10 Sep 2010 Updated: 10 Sep 2010